Cedric Benson claims he was the victim, not the aggressor

Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on June 29, 2010, 4:14 PM EDT

Within the past hour, lawyer Sam Bassett said that Bengals running back Cedric Benson “looks forward to telling his side of the story” in connection with a May 30 incident that resulted in a June 29 arrest for assault with injury.

Now, Benson lawyer David Cornwell has issued a statement on Benson’s behalf.

“Late last month at a nightclub, Cedric Benson was asked to take pictures with some female fans,” Cornwell says. “A man approached Cedric and objected to him posing for pictures with the women. Cedric explained that he had been asked to pose with the women and the man punched Cedric.

“An altercation followed and while Cedric was leaving the club, he was approached by another man aggressively. Believing this man was a friend of the man who had punched him; Cedric attempted to protect himself and continued out of the club. Immediately upon leaving the club, Cedric called the police. He was interviewed by the police and left the area.

“Two weeks ago while he was in Cincinnati, Cedric was contacted by a detective investigating the incident in Texas. Apparently, the second man who approached Cedric is an employee of the night club and claimed that Cedric punched him. Cedric agreed to be interviewed upon his return to Texas and provided his return date. Cedric was not contacted by the detective upon his return. This morning Cedric received a telephone call advising him that a warrant had been issued for his arrest. Cedric voluntarily made himself available, was taken into custody, and was released earlier today after posting bond.

“Upon his release, Cedric contacted Coach Marvin Lewis and the Commissioner’s office to notify the Cincinnati Bengals and the NFL of these events. Though we adamantly dispute that Cedric committed a crime, Cedric will continue to cooperate with law enforcement, the Bengals and the NFL in their investigation of these events.”

That last paragraph strongly implies, if not outright admits, that Benson failed to alert the Bengals or the league office of the incident before being arrested. Even if Benson believed he was a victim on May 30, he knew as of two weeks ago that an employee of the club in question claimed that Benson had punched him. Yet Benson apparently didn’t tell the team or the league.

83 responses to “Cedric Benson claims he was the victim, not the aggressor”

“Believing this man was a friend of the man who had punched him; Cedric attempted to protect himself and continued out of the club.”
Hilarious. “As I was leaving…somebody wearing obvious employee clothes approached me…but…I thought I was in danger because he could have been that other guys acquaintance!!! So…I just HAD to defend myself and get out of that situation!!!

It would depend on the wording.
He did report to his team/league after being arrested, if they require a reporting of any incident, then he might have some explaining to do, but if it’s after an arrest he should be okay from that perspective.

Probably not a big deal, but just in case don’t , why don’t you publish a ton of stories implying Cedric Benson did something wrong and should be punished, even if he didn’t. Bad Cedric!
Why should he have to report something that, at the time, wasn’t a criminal investigation?

We told you Bengals fans that it would just be a matter of time. Always the victim. Always . Trouble just follows the same guys over and over. Michael Vick, Chris Henry, Adam jones, Ben roethlesberger, etc, etc.
It’s always someone elses fault.

He wasn’t arrested… why would he bring it up to the team or league?
As soon as he learned that he was going to be arrested he notified all the right people…
don’t really see the problem with how he went about this…

Mike, are you angling for a position with the NFL’s personal conduct dept or something? The guy seems to be OK in this situation. Report that it happened, fine, but why are you always trying to lock these guys away regardless of whether they deserve it? It’s the same with everyone.

what exactly is your problem Florio? I read your garbage everyday (don’t ask me why) and everyday read about somebody getting into trouble- why are you so effin hung up on this failing to alert the league crap with Cedric?
what a nancy boy you are

Florio, he wasn’t arrested the night of the “incident,” therefore he wasn’t compelled to disclose it…he did however contact both the team and the Commissioner’s office promptly after his arrest and release this morning…so where’s the specific wrinkle to which you refer? Perhaps on your scrotum along with your journalistic integrity….also, how’s the hope and change working out for you?

Though he had his first decent season in the NFL last year (about time), C. Benson has always had the face and eyes of a jerk. I’m a Bengals fan, but for some reason this punk gives me the creeps.
Another guy just want to partyin it up and not caring!

“Late last month at a nightclub… [a] man approached Cedric and objected to him posing for pictures with the women. Cedric explained that he had been asked to pose with the women and the man punched Cedric. An altercation followed…”
************
Ced. Dude. Nothing good happens to NFL players in nightclubs. You wouldn’t be in this jam if you had gone to a library or (God forbid!) just stayed home instead.

Jeez, lawyers, you guys are ridiculous.
The thing that society cares about most is whether or not Benson was the aggressor.
Whether or not he filled out Form 169 /B correctly doesn’t matter to the court of public opinion.

I dont understand how that could make it worse. Nothing happened at the time of the incident or when he was suppose to meet with the detective so what was there to report? He reported it AFTER he was arrested and charged with something so I don’t understand what your trying to imply

I don’t really see how it could be worse in terms of suspension, if the above statement is actually what transpired. If he was never arrested immediately following the event and then went back to Texas and was never contacted by police or arrested then, how could he know that he was in trouble with the law from then on out? Furthermore, if he was contacted this morning and immediately turned himself in, what exactly is the timeframe that he was supposed to contact the league office and the Bengals? It seems that he did so as soon as he could; which in this case was immediately upon his bail release. This whole thing is confusing.

what if he is not lying and the charges get dropped would you still want his head for not running and telling on himself when he did nothing wrong?
and why does he have to notify them of the incident before being arrested.

What pisses me off is all of these people who are starting to take advantage of the fact that these players are held at a higher standard. ..This happens all the time, “oh he’s rich and a football player. I’ll get him to hit me, then I’ll sue”…it’s just not right.

please be true and let nothing or little punishment come of this. if he didnt alert the team and/or league then he is at least guilty of that. i bet that many players have trouble like this because people take advantage knowing they have money. plus he has a history we all know of. at least it isnt rape or hitting a woman. wink wink cough steelers cough

hodeybengals09 says: June 29, 2010 4:59 PM
Florio, what about the notion of being inncoent until proven guilty? Ced did not contact the team or the NFL because he WAS NOT CHARGED WITH A CRIME.
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OH HOW SWEET AND RICH IS THIS POST!!!!!! A Bengals fan who has spent the offseason calling Ben Roethlisberger a rapist despite the face he was never even CHARGED, let alone convicted now wants INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY to apply to his team’s player.
Sorry boys, all NFL players lost that right with Roethlisberger, and you yucked it up because he was on another team. Guilty until proven innocent in Lord Goodell’s NFL…. Sad but true.
Now dont be hypocrites you Bengals fans, crucify Benson for being ACCUSED just like you did to Ben…
Oh how SWEET this is!!!!

Yeah Florio, Goodell wants to be notified of every little thing. Hey Commish I got into an argument with my girlfriend and called her a “slut”, she threw some stuff at me I did back… just wanted to let you know. FYI, I’ll be watching some porn shortly.
1. Its been stated he got a bloody lip before he did anything.
2. Don’t act stupid and try to act like people don’t overblow things that happen, especially a simple little bar scuffle.
If its a fact that he called the police first and got a bloody lip before he did anything then this is just a bunch of overblown BS. Yeah its real news when a guy and a bouncer get in a scuffle. Especially when you got a target on your back… or are you dumb enough to believe that some girls don’t target rich guys and some tough guys target big name guys to prove their a badass.
He did nothing wrong by waiting (the police sure didn’t say anything to him at the time of questioning about charging him) till he was actually charged WEEKS later with something.

My God you Bunghole fans are delusional. Make excuses for a guy who has been charged and convicted of alcohol related incidents TWICE in the past, but crucify a guy who was never even charged with a crime because he owns your pathetic team year in, year out.
Benson is and always was a turd. Now he needs to get his suspension because you know, he actually has been convicted of crimes in the past.

Its been said a bunch of times already… but your an idiot if you don’t think that bouncers target any guys “deemed” as tough to prove their the badass.
Its obvious that Benson shouldn’t have punched anyone, but its a non-issue (his bloody lip in the first place) if he was being pushed around in the first place.

Well Bengal fans . See how the shoe is on the other foot ????????? Funny when ben was accused it didnt matter that he wasnt arrested or even charged . He was guilty . How all the Bungle fans want to wait for justice lol .
Since this wasnt Bensons first problem . Reguardless if convicted or not . Benson needs a 6 game suspension min. All it takes is alligations now . Multible fractions with Benson , hell he could get a year long suspension . lol . And if you lose Benson its not good for your team . Lack of the threat of a running game it will kill your offense . Poor Palmer is going to get killed .
So there goes that theory that the bungles was going to win the division 2 years in a row . All flushed down the drain . Congrats Bungle fans .

plus, Its Illegal for a Bouncer to be doing ANYTHING outside of the bar\club…. Soon as they “escort” someone past the door, thats where it ends.
Its obvious that bouncer boy was outside doing something other than “his Job”…

Wonka says:
June 29, 2010 5:41 PM
hodeybengals09 says: June 29, 2010 4:59 PM
Florio, what about the notion of being inncoent until proven guilty? Ced did not contact the team or the NFL because he WAS NOT CHARGED WITH A CRIME.
——————– ——————– –
OH HOW SWEET AND RICH IS THIS POST!!!!!! A Bengals fan who has spent the offseason calling Ben Roethlisberger a rapist despite the face he was never even CHARGED, let alone convicted now wants INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY to apply to his team’s player.
Sorry boys, all NFL players lost that right with Roethlisberger, and you yucked it up because he was on another team. Guilty until proven innocent in Lord Goodell’s NFL…. Sad but true.
Now dont be hypocrites you Bengals fans, crucify Benson for being ACCUSED just like you did to Ben…
Oh how SWEET this is!!!!
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are you serious? He fought back after he got hit….maybe if that girl in Georgia could’ve done the same you wouldn’t have the Steelers issue…if you just tried to put those two “crimes” in the same category based (I’m assuming) on you wanting Ced to get supspended then you sir are a tard….this is NOWHERE NEAR as severe as the allegations on the choad….i understand wanting to see the bengals fail and continue to be classified as poster children for thug/criminal players but come on man

are you serious? He fought back after he got hit….maybe if that girl in Georgia could’ve done the same you wouldn’t have the Steelers issue…if you just tried to put those two “crimes” in the same category based (I’m assuming) on you wanting Ced to get supspended then you sir are a tard….this is NOWHERE NEAR as severe as the allegations on the choad….i understand wanting to see the bengals fail and continue to be classified as poster children for thug/criminal players but come on man
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Say it with me now. Benson was CHARGED in this case. He was CONVICTED twice prior. Roethilsberger was never even CHARGED with a crime, ever. A drunk girl’s allegations (that changed several times before she dropped them) are just that, ALLEGATIONS. Innocent until proven guilty is all well and good. Benson has been found GUILTY twice, and it looks as though he’s well on his way to a third.
It shouldn’t matter how severe allegations are perceived to be. The only thing that matters in a court of law are charges and convictions. Suspending people for perceptions of seriousness and allegations is flithing retarded, and un-American!

It should be obvious to anyone that all football players have diminished capacity due to repeated blows to the head. Now that the Chris Henry story is out, I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before the lawyers start using “chronic brain injury syndrome” as an excuse. Unfortunately, they’d probably be right.

whodey122975 says:
June 29, 2010 5:28 PM
please be true and let nothing or little punishment come of this. if he didnt alert the team and/or league then he is at least guilty of that. i bet that many players have trouble like this because people take advantage knowing they have money. plus he has a history we all know of. at least it isnt rape or hitting a woman. wink wink cough steelers cough
————————- How soon they forget about Herry R.I.P but talking about hitting women . Half of your team if not all beat down a girl or two and show me proof about a rape . Gee your lineman was in a car driving drunk with 3 under age meanning under 18 girls what was he taking them for candy and could of killed them should I go on

Wonka, what was he convicted of prior? Both, and I do say BOTH of the times he was accused of dui, all charges were dropped. Now I am aware that being a squealer fan lowers your IQ by 50 pts, but even an imbecile knows that if charges were not pursued you cannot be convicted.

this just in,here are the new rules of conduct according st.florio who as we all know has never done anything even slightly against the law.if you sign a contract to play in the nfl you automaticly lose the right to act like any normal 20 something male. this means you are no longer allowed out of your house to do anything other than report to the stadium or practice facility and you are not allowed to drive either.alcohol allowed in home only and limited to beer,no friends or family allowed to stay at residence without prior security checks either.look I am no fan of these idiots who keep getting into trouble but guys have got to be allowed to regular people to.after the bust job he gave to the bears I am not a benson fan but in this case maybe what he said was true.would it hurt you to get the facts before you start rushing to judgement?it sounds like if they waited 3 weeks after to arrest him and then let him go that just maybe he is telling the truth.would it have killed you to check the initial police report before you posted this?no that it what a real journalist would do not some internet hack posing as one.

Regardless of whether or not he gets charged, now I have to wonder if we can count on this guy all year. All this kind of stuff was supposed to be behind him. Now we might be basing our offense on a guy who may not be around all year. Time for some changes. We can’t afford to be wrong about him. We have too many good players, and a great team camaraderie, and we can’t let one guy take all that away.

Cedric and the Bengals will be fine. They beat the Steelers even though Ced got hurt AT PITTSBURGH. I’m sure the Steelers fans will recall the name Bernard Scott and his kickoff return for a touchdown.
If Cedric’s lawyer is accurately relaying what occurred, Cedric will have little to worry about. Sorry Browns, Ravens and Steelers fans… probably just a false alarm.
After all… It’s not like Benson pulled his pants down and told the girls they could do whatever they wanted to him… while they were drunk… after he cornered them in a restroom… after they said no… with a bodyguard picketing the restroom entrance.
It’s more like… Benson has SOCIAL SKILLS with the ladies and a drunk boyfriend was just jealous.
The bouncer’s an opportune HATER. TWO WEEKS LATER!

kendog,
Cedric Benson failed a sobriety test while operating a boat, then resisted arrest before being hit with pepper spray and dragged ashore by officers.
Prior to that he was sentenced to eight days in jail in 2003 for trespassing after forcing his way into an apartment to look for a reported stolen TV.
Before that in 2002 he had drug and alcohol charges against him.
What you have here is a PATTERN OF BEHAVIOR that involves alcohol and resisting police or security. He was charged now 3 times and did jail time.
Only a moron with an IQ of 50 (an above-average Bengals fan) can’t see the difference between doing jail time and being CHARGED 3 times vs never being charged at all.
Oh, a Browns fan in the thread, how quaint. Try and act like your team is at all relevant to anyone outside of Cleveland.

Burning River says:
June 29, 2010 6:33 PM
Ben-gals fans vs. Shittsburgh fans…
These comment wars are hilarious!
And while you girls are fighting, the CLEVELAND BROWNS are going to walk right in and steal your wallets…
What a freak show.
___________________________________
Sweet jesus did I need a good laugh today. That is some funny crap my friend.

Burning River … Cleveland still has a team? Yeah, we’re scared alright. Please, go back to your room and let the adults have a conversation. Or twitter war. Or all-out bitch fight. Regardless, only teams that have been competitive on a reasonably historic basis may enter the fray.
Oh shoot. That leaves out Bengals fans.
Ah, okay, revised rule, let us have our fun and you can go back to thinking about how Jake Delhomme is going to save your franchise.
Now, as for you Bengals fans. Who here has the credibility to say “My Bad”? Yeah, just what I figured.
If you threw anything at Big Ben you have to own up to what Cedric has done. If you think for a second that there is some reason not to, you’re a hypocrite. I’m a Steelers fan. And I don’t condone what Big Ben did. I will continue to call out those who say he is a rapist because he categorically is not – hasn’t been charged (fact), hasn’t been convicted (fact). He was given due process by the law in the second case and there was insignificant evidence to proceed (also a fact).
In Benson’s case he too is entitled to due process but it is also a fact he has been arrested. And you can defend that all you want, but if you’re going to call out Big Ben you have to call out your own guy.

wonka,
The boating crap was one of the charges dismissed, because it couldn’t be proven, and the one conviction in college was because he was trying to get back something that was stolen from him.
But tell you what, I’ll take my drunk and you live with your rapist!!
And calling me a Browns fan is almost as bad as calling me a squealer. Don’t worry, Cincinnati will be bringing the sanitation service again this year as we sweep the division!! Plus, we’ll bring puffs for whines hard as well!!

kendog, you need your jaw wired shut just like Queef Rivers. You do realize the last time your team won a playoff game there was still Communism in the Soviet Union, the first George Bush was in office, gas cost $1.15 a gallon, and Paula Abdul had the #1 sing in the country.
Now shit down and shut up. You and your team of felons that haven’t had back to back winning seasons or a playoff win in 2 decades simply aren’t relevant.
Feel free to come shine my 6 Lombardi’s sometime….

# steveinohio says: June 29, 2010 4:36 PM
what incident? If Benson is attacked and he defends himself he did not commit a crime. Anyone that hasn’t seen a bouncer act like a thug has never been in a bar.
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And anyone that does not believe that Cedric Benson is more than capable of being a jag off at any moment is living in a dream world.
Or Cincinnati

Stupid, Stupid, players, you just don’t get it! Do you think it is a coincidence that guys like Manning, or Brees, or Welker never get into trouble? Stay out of the clubs for a couple of years while you play. Go after you retire you stupid hood rats! Im glad your all broke with 20 kids when your 35 and all washed up looking for handouts. GOD I hate stupidity!

Wanker,
I’m sure that the inspired butt kissing that you’ve done as well as the butt grooves you’ve put in the second hand furniture in your trailer, has been quite influential in the winning of all those trophys. Maybe not quite as much as the steroids or the purchasing of referees, but as close as an inbred hillbilly could expect. Go fight the browns in the race to the bottom of the AFCN.

blitzburgh1 says:
June 29, 2010 10:17 PM
I’m sure the Steelers fans will recall the name Bernard Scott and his kickoff return for a touchdown.
………
I’m sure Bengals fans will recall the name Kimo VonOlhofen.
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So your admitting that taking out carson palmer was the only reason you guys won that game?

If you think Cedric Benson punching a roid rageing bouncer that probably had it coming and and Ben Rapistberger raping several young girls are anywhere near the same moral ballpark…you are probably a classless steelers fan.
ofcourse I wouldn’t expect anything more out of you, at least you are consistant.

steveinslumstate,
Difference is Benson DID punch the bouncer. Roethlisberger was never even charged with raping “several young girls”. One accuser was 20, the other was 31. Hardly young. Neither had a solid case, both changed their stories repeatedly and people close to each went on record saying they made it all up.
But anyway Bungles fans 1-9-9-1!!!! And that is just a playoff win, not an actual Super Bowl or anthing bitches!!!!

There are very few bars that I’ve seen where the bouncers have a “uniform” on. Most of the time they are fat dudes with tight shirts trying to look like badasses. More than likely this bouncer walked up on him trying to act like a hard ass and mean mugging him so Ced probably thought it was the guy’s buddy or something. I just don’t understand why he wouldn’t have been arrested that night. This doesn’t make any sense. Why a month later was he arrested. I’m seriously confused. Although, if Ced f’d up, suspend his ass. But if he was defending himself b/c some guys were worried he was going to take their girls then leave him the f— alone. I would have knocked the shit out of the guys too.

Wonka, I must be mistaken, in what era did you suit up and help win a SB? If the answer is never, then i would venture to say that no one will be shining anything of yours, save for you and your pole perhaps.
Next, (allegedly) punching a bouncer outside of a nightclub after getting punched and subsequently calling the cops (like one should in that situation), is hardly the same as (allegedly) forcibly fornicating with some college girl in a podunk college town bar. Apples and Oranges dude. For the record, I never made a blanket statement about fatty’s guilt or innocence, so save it. He’s a grade a douche, no question though.
Further, even if Ced gets a suspension, there’s no reason to panic, first, Bscott is a beast, and is more than capable of filling the role of lead back for as many games as necessary, and second, regardless of the outcome of the situation, IF Cincy wants to resign Ced (you know because he was a freaking BEAST last year, even when EVERYONE and their mother knew what was coming), it will come with a smaller price tag.

To the people defending Benson: 1) He has a prior history of trouble with the law. Even without a conviction, he will likely be suspended just for running afoul of the law. 2) Yes, he DID have to report the incident even though he wasn’t arrested at the time. Please read the previously linked article.
“The League must be advised promptly of any incident that may be a violation of this policy, and particularly when any conduct results in an arrest or other criminal charge. Players and club employees must report any such incident to the club, which must then report it to NFL Security at (800) NFL-XXXX. Failure to report an incident will constitute conduct detrimental and will be taken into consideration in making disciplinary determination under this policy. Clubs are also required to report incidents that come to their attention.”
It says particularly, not only. I guarantee you that based on Goodell’s history that he will use this clause to his advantage. A fight in a night club, regardless of the circumstances, will definitely fall into the category of something that “may be a violation of [the personal conduct] policy”.

This is getting ridiculous!!! People are always trying to find a way to make a Athlete look bad.
Sounds like jealousy to me.
If I were in a club and someone approached me with bad intentions, DAMN right I’m going to defend myself. This is exactly what CB did. He is the one that called the police. He wasn’t arrested that night, then all of a sudden there’s a warrant for his arrest!!! a month later!!!!BS
I don’t know if you know this, but there are bad people out there that DON’T play sports and they are jealous and want to start crap just to do it.
Bouncers and Bartenders are the freakin’ A Holes, that love to start SHIT!!!!
Get off CB’s case and leave the athletes alone.
How about this. Just go to several of your local watering holes and observe the crap that goes on, and I guarantee you, you’ll find the same crap happening that doesn’t even involve an athlete.
WAKE UP PEOPLE!!!! A HOLES are everywhere!!!

Isnt this actually misdemeanor assualt anyway? You can attempt to condemn him for life on here, but minor assault at a bar against an aggressor? What would you do? You just got hit by one guy, walked away, and was approached by another. If this was such a bad situation, why would’nt he have hit the first guy? Do you really think he could’nt have at anytime? It’s not like he is out of shape. Right, he runs over Ray Lewis and Palamalu, but he wouldnt be able to give it a go with Joe at the local pub. Or in the interest of cowardly blogs, maybe we are just on here to talk crap. Cool. Benson suspended doesnt hurt the Bengals as much as it lengthens his season into the playoffs as he likely to be in some kind of pain by week 9, now he is streched out to week 13 on a 4 game suspension, or playoff time on a 6-8 game suspension, bring it on. Bernard Scott will do just fine. I dont see this as the reason we kicked the AFC north down last year. RB was interchangable all year last season. Keep trying.